Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Odeal Says Common Helped Shape the Way He Writes Songs
Odeal breaks down the rap influences behind his songwriting, from Common and J Dilla to Biggie, MF DOOM and 6lack.
By the time Odeal sits down to talk about the writers and producers who shaped him, his own catalog already makes the case. Born in Germany and raised between Nigeria and the United Kingdom, the 26-year-old singer-songwriter and producer has spent nearly a decade turning YouTube covers into a body of work that moves easily between Afrobeats, R&B and the wider Black music diaspora. Projects like OVMBR: Maybe I’m Best Alone, Sunday At Zuri’s and For A Good Time… have helped build that lane, alongside collaborations with Wale, Latto and 6lack.
In XXL’s Summer 2026 issue, the genre-blending artist walks through the rappers and producers that fed into that sound, and the list is as telling as it is familiar. “I’d say 50 Cent, Ja Rule, even. Biggie, Tupac. Kendrick Lamar and Drake, as well,” Odeal says when asked about the MCs he grew up with. What stayed with him, he explains, was the way those artists carried themselves on a track. “The way [Biggie, Tupac Shakur and Ja Rule] expressed themselves. Whatever [Biggie] was talking about felt real and it felt rich. It was rich in that feeling, the way he spoke about different things. The way he played on words. And ’Pac, the things that he spoke about as well, I really loved his impact, the way he was really raw in the things he said. And then even Ja Rule, I think it was just the integration of R&B into his raps.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Odeal points to J Dilla as the producer he would most want behind a rap record. “When it comes to sampling and everything, he’s the absolute G.O.A.T. That’s the main reason I was trying to get into MPCs but ended up buying a Maschine instead,” he says. “That level of sampling is something that inspires my production heavy. So, he’s one producer I would love to get with if he was still here with us. I love soul records. The way he was able to sample different chords from old records was so incredible.”
That same instinct for directness comes up again when the conversation turns to lyricism. Asked which rapper influenced the way he writes, Odeal lands on Common. “I think with Common, there’s that level of trueness, that realness, that level of just for everyday people who are just trying to find truth in life,” he says. “I think that as well resonates a lot with my music and what I do. It’s thought-provoking. It’s just one of those things where you hear that one thing that makes you go, ‘Bruh.’”
He ties that idea back to his own writing with a line from one of his songs, “Miami,” where he sings, “You wanna heal, you gotta feel quicker.” In his telling, that kind of phrase is part of the point. “That’s not too far off from one of the things that you probably hear Common say. It’s one of those little things that you say. It sticks with people. It hits.”
For Odeal, the line between rapping and singing seems more porous than most artists like to admit. “It wouldn’t,” he says when asked if his writing style would change if he were a rapper. “Whenever I’m making music, I literally write my songs like I am a rapper. I just sing that.”
His current favorite collaborator is another artist who works comfortably across those boundaries. “To be fair, 6lack. He’s fire,” Odeal says. “I think he really thinks about what he’s doing. He’s very particular about what he does. And the fact that he can switch between rapping and singing is very, very important because he understands both sides.”
And if he could choose one late rapper to make a song with, Odeal keeps it in the same rarefied tier. “It would be Biggie or MF DOOM,” he says. “I really love the beat selection on top of [DOOM’s] lyrics and his pen. I think it’s the beat selection and just the world that he was able to go into.”
Listen to Odeal’s For A Good Time… album.
Odeal’s interview in the 2026 XXL Freshman issue is available to purchase here. In addition to interviews with the 2026 XXL Freshman Class and DJ Drama, there are also conversations with T.I., Swae Lee, Sexyy Red, Young M.A, Cash Cobain, Skilla Baby, Lil Tjay, high-profile defense attorney Brian Steel and more, plus a look back at what the 2025 XXL Freshman Class has been doing and explore the cultural impact of the 2016 XXL Freshman Class and where its members are today.
